SAN FRANCISCO — The Yankees have seen enough of it to insist they’re not too surprised.
And yet, they still seem impressed when Aaron Judge does Aaron Judge things, like hitting 14 home runs and 12 doubles in the month of May.
“Enjoy it, because we’re in the middle of greatness,” Anthony Rizzo said Friday night after Judge hit two home runs against the Giants at Oracle Park, putting the finishing touches on a monster May.
The latest damage of the month: In 28 games, Judge hit .371 with a 1.415 OPS, 14 homers and 12 doubles while drawing 22 walks.
Of his 36 hits, 26 were for extra bases, tied with Babe Ruth for third most in a calendar month in Yankees history, behind only Joe DiMaggio (31 in 1937) and Lou Gehrig (29 in 1930 ).
“You think you’d stop being surprised, but what he’s done is impressive,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Twenty-six extra hits this month? I mean, it’s hard to understand what he does. He’s just doing his thing. He’s so consistent with who he is as a person, as a player and how he goes about things. It’s just fun to be able to watch it.
True to his even-keeled nature, Judge mostly ignored his historic month.
The furthest he went in his acknowledgment came Thursday night, when he went so far as to call it a “good month,” quickly adding his goal of trying to repeat it in June.
However, his teammates were happy to make it spring for him.
“It’s amazing to see what he was able to do because it’s a pretty historic race,” Marcus Stroman said. “I think we take it for granted sometimes.”
Boone recently shared a similar sentiment about not wanting to take Judge for granted just because he’s constantly setting the bar higher for himself.
After Boone had a front-row seat to Judge’s pursuit of 62 homers in 2022, there’s not much the captain can do to shock his manager.
“Whenever he does something that’s a first or unique or whatever adjective you want to put on it, it honestly doesn’t surprise me, just because I know how good he is and when he s ‘Lock up, it’s just different,’ Boone said. .
Besides having a historic month after a quiet first few weeks of the season, Judge also did so in the context of a year in which offense is down across the league and where d Other superstars have yet to fully take off.
Among the game’s greatest sluggers who have yet to reach the threshold of 14 homers and 12 doubles this season (starting Saturday) — let alone last month?
Bryce Harper, Pete Alonso, Yordan Alvarez, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Rafael Devers, just to name a few.
During this time, Judge joined Albert Belle (14 home runs, 13 doubles in August 1995) as the only players in major league history to hit 14 home runs and 12 doubles in a single calendar month.
“It’s a good month,” Rizzo said. “I think Dugie (Alex Verdugo) said it last week, it’s a great season for a lot of (players). He starts off an April that wasn’t used to everyone’s taste and his own, but that’s what this game does, it evens out. That’s why we’re playing 162. So I hope it continues.
“As he goes, we go.”
Sure enough, the Yankees went 21-7 in May during Judge’s torrid run.
The only other time Judge hit at least 14 home runs in a single calendar month was September 2017, when he hit 15 to finish his AL Rookie of the Year campaign with 52 homers.
Even in his record 62 home run season, Judge didn’t hit 14 homers in a month.
Judge still has a way to go to match this season’s consistency, although for what it’s worth, he entered June with an MLB-leading 20 home runs, putting him on pace for 55 on the year.
New York Post
